ABSTRACT
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a modified form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that was originally developed by Marsha Linehan, PhD, to help chronically suicidal clients. These clients, often meeting criteria for borderline personality disorder, were difficult to treat effectively. She noticed that the clients being treated with typical cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) were either dropping out of treatment, not acquiring the skills they needed to make changes in their lives, or engaging in the kinds of relationships with their therapists that were getting in the way of effective treatment (Dimeff & Linehan, 2001).
